New water quality rules draw criticism

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT-MESA -- The local water board’s tentative rewrite of the rule

book relating to how cities must handle polluted water heading into the

county’s storm drains has already come under fire.

Environmentalists don’t think it has enough teeth. Builders say it’s

too stringent. Coastal cities like Newport Beach worry it doesn’t require

more. Inland cities say it requires too much.

It seems, at least at this point, everyone has a critique to offer.

“I have some serious concerns with this, believing it doesn’t go far

enough,” Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

Between now and Dec. 7, regulators at the Santa Ana Regional Water

Quality Control Board will be refining a document that will serve as the

water-quality bible for the next five years.

Cities will be given the rule book in the form of a permit. If cities

choose to ignore the rules, they can face warnings, cleanup orders or

even stiff fines.

Developers in Newport Beach have already noticed the board’s tougher

approach on water pollution. In November 2000, the board slapped a

cleanup order on three groups suspected of causing pollution to leak into

Crystal Cove.

The Irvine Co., California State Parks and Caltrans were tagged,

respectively, for a massive housing project, leaking septic tanks under

beachfront cottages and pollution from East Coast Highway.

The most recent draft of the 51-page permit, dated Sept. 12, maps out

broad rules for cleaning up water that runs into the storm drains and

finds its way into Upper Newport Bay or the ocean.

The permit asks cities to perform everything from stepped-up cleaning

of catch basins, tougher requirements on new development, more

water-quality monitoring and increased education of residents.

In its most literal reading, any water running down the gutter that

doesn’t fall under a handful of exemptions would be illegal.

Water resulting from storms, landscape irrigation and lawn watering,

noncommercial vehicle washing, diverted stream flows and natural springs

are all exempted.

One thing the permit doesn’t contain, to the consternation of

environmentalists, is a specific requirement that developers of large

commercial or residential projects develop a cleanup plan for pollution

caused by their developments.

As a point of contrast, the San Diego water board’s proposed permit

does include such a requirement.

“Our fundamental concern is the permit isn’t designed to fully deal

with the problem,” said David Beckman, an environmental attorney

representing Newport Beach-based Defend the Bay. “This permit needs to be

strengthened.”

Builders in Orange County may be breathing a sigh of relief that they

won’t be forced to install a costly drainage system or catch basin with

new projects. But the new permit has introduced other requirements.

The permit gives cities broad license to impose limits on the amount

of runoff caused by new developments of 5,000 square feet or more.

“We do want solutions, but we’re concerned that the measures could be

too draconian and onerous,” said Lynne Fischel, the chief executive of

the Orange County chapter of the Building Industry Assn. “We want clean

water, but we want to know that there’s going to be a benefit from the

money we’re spending. We haven’t seen any definitive reason that water

quality will improve [under the permit].”

To assuage the concerns, water board officials have held a series of

meetings with the cities and groups affected.

After holding a Sept. 26 public workshop, the board opened a period

for submittal of written comments on the permit. That period ends Oct.

19. The board has pegged its Dec. 7 meeting for final approval.

Michael Adackapara, the board engineer supervising the process,

cautioned against viewing the Sept. 12 draft as a final version.

“There will be a few changes,” Adackapara said. “We are going to look

at some things.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .